A Series of Fortunate Events
by oca2073
Summary: Prior to Halloween, Pettigrew pays a visit to Severus in the hopes of enlisting his efforts to kill Sirius Black, to further his promotion in Voldemort's ranks.
1. Chapter 1

The clock had struck two past midnight but time was the farthest thing from his mind as he bent over multiple cauldrons, hunched in the same position for hours. The sweat drenched his brow that he fussed over with a rather spoilt handkerchief as he tried to avoid spilling any into the contents that he was brewing.

Time always seemed to move like eternity while Severus was brewing and then it vanished and reappeared in an instant surprising him. Glancing every once in a while at the thick tome set before him, which he had laid out just for perfunctory purposes, he frowned as he stirred briskly. The swirl of the potion mesmerizing him for the instant, that he almost forgot where he was sitting on a stool in a dank, dilapidated basement that functioned as his makeshift potions lab.

It was Wolfsbane that he was engaged in tonight. Sitting in little vials by another desk was immature Felix Felices. All of it for the Dark Lord's army of course, Severus was hard at work brewing for a dangerous madman in his capacity as recently turned spy for the Order in the Death Eater ranks. This was ever since that _incident_ at Hogesmede where he had inadvertently put _her _in danger as well as _her _husband and _her _son.

Which then had left him with little choice. He had consented to switching masters and was now slave to Albus Dumbledore instead while still having to act out the unpleasant role as slave to the Dark Lord as well. The Dark Lord had been busy these last months raising an army of magical creatures from all corners of Europe, but he had been especially concerned with the werewolf pack in Britain. Offering them free wolfsbane when they wanted and license to attack Muggles when they wanted had been a brilliant political move.

He stopped suddenly fingering his hair and always trying to rub the greasiness off and he found himself unable to concentrate as he was thinking about _her_ again. This annoyed him to a certain extent as he had always promised himself that he would stop thinking of _her_, but ever since his 5th year his resolutions had always amounted to nothing but desperate heartache.

Sighing and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Severus arose and contemplated giving up for the night when he heard a low rapping from his front door. Fingering his wand as he climbed the twisting staircase he carelessly summoned his hood and gown for the purpose, as visitors this late at night could only be of a certain type.

Fully dressed in that ridiculous garb and his face hidden behind the death eater mask, he peered for an instant through the magical peephole that did not show on the other side of the door. He could see: a curious pair; a tall man that Snape recognized as Avery from his mask and his companion, a short and squat figure who kept fidgeting. He seemed vaguely familiar, though Severus was unable to place the memory for the moment.

He unlatched his front door and greeted the two who returned the gesture with a nod. Unspoken, Avery and Severus exchanged wands and having examined the other and being well-satisfied, the pair were ushered into a tawdrily decorated room for receiving guests. Distastefully enough, this had been the house of his father's that Snape had inherited, and he always had to contrive to keep his face emotionless when receiving outsiders who might otherwise sense his weakness about the place.

They plopped down on one of those unfashionable sofas while Severus settled on a better looking but still tarnished armchair. He had never bothered to clean this place up because he aways wanted the memory of his childhood home to remain as unpleasant as it really was.

"Severus," Avery finally began in a low and steady voice that Snape knew belied the man's real personality behind the mask. "The Dark Lord extends his greetings."

He acknowledged this with a curt nod, while his companion still had said nothing so far but was wheezing in an annoying manner beside him while staring at his own lap.

Avery continued with the same drawl. "As his messenger to his servant, the Dark Lord wishes for an update on the progress of the potions you've been instructed to brew. He is extremely impatient with the progress of the Felix Felices in particular…"

He broke off as Severus suddenly snorted and actually chortled in response. Avery couldn't believe it for a moment then realized that he had been caught quite out in the act.

"Well that is all very well to know Avery," Snape replied quite mockingly. "Except if you had the slightest knowledge of Felix Felices you would know it could not be ready for another half year since the Dark Lord gave the order to brew it. Unless you are implying of course that it is the Dark Lord who is so ignorant…"

The potion of course being intended for use in small doses to improve the chances of Voldemort's death eater followers fulfilling especially important missions.

"The Wolfesbane on the other hand," and here Severus paused and looked at Avery searchingly behind his mask, "will be ready most likely in two moons. The Felix though has an approximately eighty percent failure rate even by the most accomplished brewers, something the Dark Lord knows full well." Left unspoken was Avery himself being left in the dark in his idiotic attempt to intimidate Severus.

"And I am glad to hear the Dark Lord approves," Avery said attempting to recover some of the composure that he had so evidently lost, "the Dark Lord has given no sign of displeasure but he has also instructed me to inform you of the upcoming raid next week under Malfoy. And you are to take part," he continued with a sight sneer, "thanks to your familiarity with the scum."

"It will be my pleasure to participate." Snape bowed low after having received the Dark Lord's commands. Referring to Severus' rather muggle upbringing was a particularly low blow in Snape's opinion but he knew this rather ideologically bankrupt group of purebloods had little else going for them, other than wealth of course. He himself couldn't believe that he had once been of a similar mindset when he had been younger. And that of course had cost him his friendship with _her_ and before he knew it, out of bitterness and regret he had joined their lot. And now it was too late. Well almost.

They needed him for the raids in particular because he could navigate the muggle world better than any arrogant pureblood could. Thus more Muggles died and the chances of complications were reduced when Severus participated. Thankfully he had never had to personally kill any as all of them typically competed over the right to kill prey_._

He was then snapped out of his reverie by Avery introducing his companion who had not breathed a word in all this time.

"Ah yes, I have been meaning to ask. Do we have a new recruit among our ranks? I daresay I don't recognize him," Severus said gesturing smoothly. He made sure to remember the identity of as many of his fellow death eaters as he could but he had never seen him before. Though he could have sworn that there was something about him that he felt he knew but was missing something.

"You are most correct Severus. Pettigrew here has been meaning to make your acquaintance for some time. He has provided our Lord with much useful information so he is presently ranked your equal, not inferior, despite only joining very recently," Avery drawled.

"Severus," came Pettigrew's pip-squeaky voice at last that Snape so recognized from their school days, "it is good to find us on the same side. I have useful information concerning Black that will allow us to corner and finish him at long last if we work together with the Lestranges."

He contemplated the proposal that Pettigrew was presenting him, considering the motives behind it. Meanwhile Avery glanced at Pettigrew distastefully for having presented his offer so brusquely, totally out of line with Pureblood tradition.

I'll bet you do, Snape was thinking to himself, his mind awhirl with the implications. "Very good Pettigrew," he finally said neutrally. "I too would like to see Black eliminated and place the fortune into Bellatrix's hands but you are much mistaken if you still think I have some kind of personal animus towards Black after all these years…"

"Pettigrew was not planning to visit you today, but I convinced him to come," Avery broke in looking at the smaller figure beside him patronizingly. "He is frequently ill, come down with a nasty illness of late. So you'll forgive him for not speaking very much."

Pettigrew merely wheezed and said nothing in return.

"I will consider the information you have given me once you have cleared it with the Dark Lord," Severus said firmly. "And provided you convince him… I will have nothing against participating myself." In truth, Pettigrew's vindictiveness had rather shocked him as he had never seen it from him before. How casually he spoke of betraying and murdering his former friends and protectors! And for what reason, Severus still could not fathom though it was obvious why Pettigrew had decided to seek him out of all people, after he had apparently turned cloak against the Order.

This was an important development, that had to be reported to Dumbledore of course. So it was to be another added risk to his increasingly precarious position, all to protect _her_ and _her _child and _husband_. Snape had never really reconciled himself with that particular side of the mission no matter what Dumbledore had said, but thankfully for him he couldn't exactly pick and choose at this point.

They talked for some minutes on various other matters before Avery and Pettigrew rose to leave, the latter tripping over the leg of his foot-stool and reeling forwards nearly falling flat on the carpet, that made Severus cringe in spite of himself. Whatever little respect he ever had for Pettigrew was evaporating by this point, being replaced by sheer contempt. He really was both useless, cowardly and traitorous scum. At least he Severus was useful and had managed to pick the right side in the end!

Despite all the challenges that entailed, Snape thought musing to himself, his thoughts comfortably shielded from the weak probing attempts of Avery, who was really quite a poor legilimens no matter what the man thought of his own abilities, it was really a stroke of luck for the Order that they'd expose Pettigrew before any potential damage could be inflicted.

"I guess we'll be seeing you again then, quite soon," Avery said in a last parting shot as Snape bowed as was customary since Avery had served the Dark Lord for longer. The two of them filed out together. Pettigrew seemed quite unsure of how that meeting went if Snape read his body language correctly. He shuffled out awkwardly behind the older man.

Snape breathed a deep sigh of relief as soon as he heard the front door slamming shut and flicking his wand to make sure he was truly alone, he went back downstairs to his basement to continue working on the potions. He found himself quite easily distracted though; his concentration broken by the appearance of late night visitors, and contemplated giving up for the night.

Back in his living room now which was quite empty, he waved his wand quite self consciously as he restored the furnishings and decor to a much improved state. Resolving to continue his work tomorrow he went upstairs for bed.

Before sleeping however, he made sure to cast his doe patronus, a sign and reminder of his constancy to _her _and directed it to communicate to Dumbledore everything that he had learned tonight of Pettigrew. It was risky ultimately because it could help blow his cover, though he trusted Dumbledore would know how to handle the information without jeopardizing his position too much.

.

.

.

The two men venturing at the edge of the Hogwarts grounds, having just apparated in, alerted the headmaster of the castle to their sudden appearance. His silver instruments hummed in unison and he bade them entry as the school gates parted to permit them. James Potter and Sirius Black having only recently been students themselves a few short years ago were strolling through the lawns, with near identical grins of reminiscence of youthful follies.

Dumbledore heaved a sigh as he looked now at the now fully-grown adults sitting in his office as his mind too drifted back to the literally dozens of times they had been called here for mischief. This time though, it was for reasons grave and decidedly unhumorous that they had been summoned.

So sensitive was the information that the headmaster felt he couldn't even risk travelling to Headquarters to tell them personally. As far as Dumbledore was concerned it was critical that no one have access to this critical piece of knowledge yet, and he trusted James and Sirius would be prudent enough to tell no one but their closest associates.

Especially considering who it was that had just been discovered to have betrayed them.

"Professor Dumbledore," Sirius began, his face wreathed in smiles. While James bowed low and said simply "Headmaster," before waiting politely for him to begin. James still felt somewhat humbled by the headmaster's inexplicable reason to appoint him as Head Boy during his final year, which he felt had been the only reason he had gotten close to Lily who had been Head Girl.

"Please gentlemen," Dumbledore replied with the customary twinkle in his eyes reserved for personally favoured students, raising his arms and gesturing them for them to sit before him.

"And how is Harry doing James? And Lily?" "He is perfectly healthy," beamed James who still had not gotten past the fact that he was now a father. "Lily of course is doing fine, I mean, given the circumstances…"

"Hey, we come visit pretty regularly," Sirius elbowed James. "I told you to think of it as an extended honeymoon or something. Things could be worse for sure."

"Never mind," James looked back at Dumbledore somewhat stiffly. "Alright then Professor what is it that we've been summoned for? I know you wouldn't call me out of hiding just to ask about our lives."

"You are quite correct to surmise that I have something of the highest importance to tell you, which is why I asked you to come so abruptly." Dumbledore adjusted his glasses delicately.

"Well I must say that I am sorry to have received some particularly shocking news, regarding your friend Pettigrew." Sirius and James were simultaneously horrified, fearing the worst.

"No, it isn't that. It's actually much worse than you think," Dumbledore continued, his gnarled hands pressed together over the table. "You see… I have received information that Pettigrew has turned."

Sirius blinked. James looked around the office disbelievingly before turning back to Dumbledore and let out an uncertain laugh.

"You… you must surely be joking, Dumbledore?"

"Not so," the venerable headmaster said, suddenly feeling extremely weary. Facing the two somewhat naive and very idealistic young men in front of him, who had never yet known betrayal in all their lives…

"Yes, my source within the death eater ranks that we had discussed previously said he has turned very recently." Dumbledore sighed again and leaned back in his chair watching the curiously complex set of emotions passing through both men's faces. Who knew disbelief, sadness and anger could thus coexist in confusion and tumult as both James and Sirius suddenly found it impossible to say anything.

And Dumbledore saw that the pair knew that it was highly unlikely anyone should see the reason to lie about Pettigrew, who had always been totally insignificant, not exactly an important asset for the Order. That point had passed unspoken between the three of them.

"I don't believe it," James finally forced himself to say staring hard at Dumbledore. "No it's impossible! Nevertheless," James considered, "we can't afford to take any risks here." And then he glanced at Sirius. Finally getting up, he paced around the office in agitated fashion tearing at his dishevelled hair for some minutes before steering himself to return.

Both men were looking guiltily at him. "You see, we made him secret keeper in the end," Sirius said very regretfully, "And I had suggested the switch so I have to say it's my fault…" James cut him off impatiently.

This turn of events surprised Dumbledore greatly and he fought to keep a calm composure as he considered and calculated the danger that Lily and the newborn Harry might be under at this very minute. Evidently, Sirius and James were thinking exactly the same thing, James was actually shaking with worry and seemed at a loss as to what to do next.

Sirius remained sitting after James had got to his feet again, fingering his wand. He had a hard glare in his eyes now as the guilt flooding through him quickly gave way to anger at Pettigrew; at the very least for causing this much trouble and confusion. Either way that _rat_ was going to have a lot of questions to answer for when they next saw him and if he had turned…

On the other hand, whatever doubts James might have had over Pettigrew really betraying him vying with the strength of their friendship, he simply couldn't risk the life of his wife and child, even if he still thought it rumour and hearsay for the time being. Dumbledore had taken care not to mention that it was Snape that had informed him, which would only serve to strengthen James' doubts. Within minutes therefore, James had quit Dumbledore's office and was running through the castle and back to the grounds, only partially covered by his cloak as he quickly disapparated for home without even waiting for Sirius.

Not that Sirius minded one bit. He was still pacing the Hogwarts corridors thinking long back to the days when the Marauders had ruled the school, before real life had intervened and thrown them harshly into the midst of war and fighting. And he was thinking back to Wormtail and whether there had been any signs even back then? Anything that might serve to provide some rationale, clarity, or truth and satisfy the gnawing within him that hated to suspect a friend. Any reason why Pettigrew might have turned? But looking back, he couldn't seem to find anything.

If anything, he had always had greater reason to suspect Moony, but maybe both of them had turned together? It was a frightening thought indeed to contemplate. It made Sirius feel increasingly paranoid towards all their associates in the Order. After all, if ties of friendship were so easily broken nowadays, could they really afford to trust anyone anymore?

But then again if it was all just bunk… Growing more confused and angry by the minute through all his deliberations, he nevertheless still couldn't see why any of Dumbledore's "sources" would lie about Peter in the first place. Peter was an innocuous figure of no importance; out of everyone in the Order he simply wasn't "worth" lying about…

.

.

.

"Look on the bright side James. At the very least, if an attack is imminent you'll be back in action soon before long." James gripped his wand tightly and didn't reply.

They were in Godric's Hollow, with the infant Harry sleeping peacefully in his crib and all the adults in the room were on edge. James and Sirius were joined by the Longbottoms; Alice who had the infant Neville Longbottom who was crying, nestled in her arms while Lily was engaged in conversation with Frank.

Due to Sirius' misgivings though, Remus had not been invited though he was a regular visitor. They could not run the risk of alerting Voldemort to their plans; it was vital to both James and Lily's survival. Since the identity of the secret keeper could not be changed, the Potters would have to continue to live in Godric's Hollow. Even though it was now just as vulnerable now as any other safe house.

"When is Minerva coming over," James asked his wife. Their eyes met and the colour of determination in Lily's green gave him courage. They had to do this; Dumbledore was right that this was their best shot at defeating You-Know-Who for good. In striving to build a better future for their children, they had to risk their lives in the here and now. After all, Lily had told him that she didn't think a life lived constantly under Voldemort's shadow was that worth living.

"She'll be here around noon," Lily replied. "Meanwhile everything is set. I've checked the enchantments that Dumbledore set up yesterday and they seem to be in good order."

"But are you certain you want to participate as well? You know as well as I the risks are very great. We could get a few others. Emmeline Vance or Elphias Doge would be willing. What with…" And here she glanced at Neville who had quieted down.

"What would we be if we allowed you to risk your lives while not coming to help?" Frank said firmly. "Neville at the very least has a grandmother who could look after him. Face it, Lily. You need us. Alice and I have the most experience fighting Voldemort's followers out of all the Order members left."

Lily didn't dispute that and even Sirius admitted that the Longbottoms were probably better fighters than the Marauders. Not to mention Alice was godmother to Harry, whom she therefore felt a great duty to protect. Lily was in turn godmother to Neville though the Potters had not yet told the Longbottoms about the prophecy. But that was something they were planning on rectifying now.

"But if you are going to fight with us, we need to be perfectly honest with you," Lily said looking at her husband who gave a grave nod of acquiescence. "The reason we invited you today in particular, besides confirming the plan of action… we have to tell you why Voldemort is targeting us."


	2. Chapter 2

On Halloween of 1981, Voldemort apparated into Godric's Hollow impatient to get the deed done. He marched purposefully through the village streets, cloaked in shadow and his face masked and almost snarled in annoyance as a bunch of children came to admire his "Halloween costume". Eventually he was rid of them and he went straight for the Potters, lingering outside the window of their house as he spied on their activities.

Strangely they did not seem all too happy. Not the _loving couple_ that he had been told to expect. Lily was reading and James was pacing around talking to someone through a two-way mirror and looked distracted. The infant in question was sleeping peacefully in his crib.

It was time then. Voldemort withdrew his wand and marched straight to the front door which opened with a bang to admit him. It did appear the Potters did like to live in style judging by the very impressive space-enlargement charms inside their home. Instantly he was alerted to the Potter's voices coming from another room as all the windows suddenly turned black which was a tell-tale sign.

"It's him! Lily take Harry and run, I'll hold him off!"

He snorted with amusement at that but before he had advanced two steps into the living room, the Potters… were gone. Snarling, Voldemort knocked over a lamp which shattered on the floor. They had disappeared in what appeared to be a pre-planned portkey, if he guessed correctly. But then he spotted the crib and was confused, they had purposefully left behind their son?

It had to be a trap then. That Pettigrew had lied about betraying his friends merely to spring a trap! He had been fooled by an idiot like Pettigrew! Voldemort looked forward to making the rat pay. Meanwhile, he pressed on his Dark Mark with his wand to call for reinforcements and advanced on the crib.

He immediately recognized it to be a decoy up close and un-transfigured the sleeping puppy immediately. He had been preparing to leave but then he heard multiple pops outside which either signalled that his reinforcements had arrived, or the trap had been sprung at last…

.

.

He hadn't wanted to believe it was true, but all security measures had been taken nevertheless. Now it had turned out that Pettigrew had betrayed them and Lily was shuddering to think how close they came to disaster. They had both disappeared in a portkey disguised as a flower pot and now reappeared a mere twenty paces outside their home where they were joined by the Longbottoms and the rest of the Marauders. A few seconds later, Dumbledore had arrived in a flash of phoenix fire, coming directly from Hogwarts.

"We must move quickly," Dumbledore announced to the gathered party, "before Voldemort can escape the house. Right now he is trapped, as most of his followers cannot enter it nor can he destroy the house with himself still inside."

Dumbledore and James went immediately for the front door while Remus, Sirius and Frank doubled to the back while Lily and Alice ascended on broomsticks to watch the overall situation from the air and help where needed. This had already been agreed upon, and all seven of them had been keyed in to enter the home from the very start when the Fidelius was originally cast.

Bursting through the front door, James immediately transfigured a wardrobe to their left to shield against a killing curse thrown by Voldemort. The ancient cabinet burst into flames. Dumbledore flicked his own wand and Voldemort was forced into retreat as a powerful spell forced him to cast defensive measures of his own.

After this brief skirmish, Voldemort stopped to compliment him. "I must commend you on a very well thought out plan. I must say I never thought you would stoop to the level of playing a game of pretension with your friend's loyalties in order to trap me."

James said nothing in return, his face was inscrutable. He was in deep concentration, ready to react in a split second. Dumbledore and Voldemort on the other hand were relaxed as they could be and were actually exchanging pleasantries in the middle of all this!

"I'm afraid you've miscalculated however," Voldemort said as he noticed Remus, Lupin, and Frank from the backdoor and Alice and Lily coming down the stairs having flown into one of the windows of the upper floor. "My friends will be joining us quite soon."

There were six distinct pops outside. Voldemort had called everyone that he had keyed into the house via Pettigrew, but unfortunately it had been restricted to his oldest and most faithful followers as he could not have risked the plan falling to Dumbledore's ears. Between them, only Severus and Pettigrew knew that he was targeting the Potters as well.

Sirius then immediately jumped into the attack and all hell broke loose. Voldemort proved a masterful dueller, able to hold his own temporarily against seven at once including Dumbledore, for the minute it took for the death eaters to stumble into the house. Then it became a full-blown battle as Dumbledore was up against Voldemort alone. Lily was fighting Mucliber, James against Lestrange Sr, Remus against Macnair, Sirius against Nott, Longbottoms against Avery and Rosier…

The house had been expanded from the inside in preparation for just this contingency, and Voldemort cursed himself for not realizing it to begin with as he sent killing curse after killing curse mixed in with the most advanced curses in his repertoire at Albus Dumbledore…

Outside the Muggles trick or treating merrily had no idea what was occurring. Having not been keyed into the Fidelius obviously, they were unable to see the flashes of magic and battle cries and shrieks, the fire and fury of the combatants. A few even approached the house and knocked on its front door for treats, but receiving no answer turned away to leave.

By the end of it all the Death eaters had been defeated, as the Marauders and the Longbottoms had proved superior. All six death eaters were either dead or captured but the toll was heavy on their side too. Alice had lost an arm to dark magic and was in danger. Frank was unconscious, unmoving, having been hit by a deadly curse. Sirius was also badly injured and unable to fight. Remus was barely standing but he could still fight. Only James and Lily escaped largely unscathed through James had gashes along his side and was bleeding heavily.

While Lily was attending to Alice, all the rest of them were pointing their wands straight at Voldemort who merely sneered at them in defiance and played his last card.

With a sudden burst of fiendfyre, he set the house aflame immediately as a gigantic fire serpent reared its head and descended upon them all. Dumbledore had immediately cast defensive magic that only he knew how, protecting them, but the house then collapsed within itself. Voldemort who was controlling his fiendfyre could not defend himself against this, nor had he intended to. Not wanting to be captured, he had decided to try and kill them all knowing that he could be revived one way or another.

While Dumbledore shielded them from the fiendfyre using immensely difficult and ancient magic, James, Lily and Remus managed to protect the entire party from the falling debris as the house collapsed in on them. Ultimately they would manage to survive as Voldemort hadn't known that Dumbledore could counter even fiendfyre itself. But as Voldemort himself perished, all of them could see Voldemort' spirit or ghost arising from his fallen and ashen body. It departed shrieking with pain and rage at them.

The next day, the muggle news had reported on an enormous gas explosion that had blown up a house in Godric's Hollow. While all of Magical Britain celebrated in an uninhibited way.


End file.
